Steve Walker News

ExxonMobil announced the first firing of its new crosshead slow speed test engine to drive its research and development of next generation cylinder and system oils for the marine industry. The test engine will provide ExxonMobil with a platform for meeting the needs of increasingly complex engine designs driven by changing regulation affecting the industry. Engines are now operating under more varied and demanding conditions, placing new challenges on the engine lubrication. The test engine offers an advanced method for lubricant development…

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) will launch in April a sleek, 132-foot warship from Portland, OR, testing its abilities over a succeeding period of 18 months. The ship is entirely autonomous, fully operational without an onboard crew. The Anti-Submarine Warfare Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel, or ACTUV, is scheduled to be launched April 17 from the Vigor Shipyards in Oregon. The ACTUV will continue sea-trials for 18 months following its maiden voyage, where it will be tested for its long-range tracking and self-driving functions. “Imagine an unmanned surface vessel following all the laws of the sea on its own and operating with manned surface and unmanned underwater vehicles,” said DARPA’s Deputy Director Steve Walker, according to the magazine National Defense.

ExxonMobil Marine Fuels and Lubricants upgraded its marine engine condition monitoring program. The MobilGard cylinder condition monitoring (CCM) program now has the functionality for onboard oil samples to be compared against ExxonMobil’s database of nearly 100,000 test results, helping operators to protect and optimize the performance of their engines, the company said.“The upgrade of the MobilGard CCM program comes at a time when engine builders continue to push the boundaries in developing next generation models…

Global supply chain provider SBS Worldwide has urged shippers to use logistics providers with strong relationships with shipping lines or they could find their shipments left on the quay side. The warning comes as shipping lines have been withdrawing capacity because the industry has been suffering from over-supply of vessels on key trade lanes. SBS Worldwide Group Chairman Steve Walker said: “When shipping lines remove services in order to balance supply and demand, it results in a short term reduction in capacity.

The UK’s logistics industry has welcomed the opening of a new deepwater terminal at the country’s busiest container terminal, which is capable of handling the latest generation of container vessels. The Felixstowe South Terminal will comprise two berths – 8 & 9 – and its owner, Hutchison Ports UK , claims it is currently the only facility in the country capable of handling the latest generation of containerships, which have capacities of up to 18,000teu. Graham Riches, Managing Director, DSV Air & Sea, said: “The opening of this new terminal is great news for the whole of the UK. He continued, “Our customers need a reliable and regular supply chain and it is essential that the freight industry is able to provide business with the option of direct ports of call.

Academic publisher, McGraw-Hill Education, has appointed SBS Worldwide as its freight forwarder and supply chain partner of choice for all inbound air and sea consignments. SBS will manage the logistics of cargo being delivered to the McGraw-Hill Education EMEA headquarters in Maidenhead, Berkshire, which will include inbound shipments from a diverse range of locations, such as USA, Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore. The company will also facilitate a drop shipment service for direct delivery to customer publishers and their respective freight shippers.As part of the agreement, McGraw-Hill Education will use SBS’s award-winning Electronic Distribution Centre (eDC) tool, which will give the company access to real time data on its global consignments – right down to ISBN number.

Logistics company SBS Worldwide worked tirelessly through the weekend to maintain its clients’ supply chains as the devastating hurricane Irene battered the US north east. Early on Monday morning, SBS Worldwide’s New Jersey office was “open for business as usual”, after airports and seaports were closed and road infrastructure was reduced to a honeycomb of flowing water, trees and mud as Irene hit the US east coast over the weekend. SBS Worldwide US MD Lars Kloch says preparation is key to ensuring that disruption to its clients’ supply chains is kept to a minimum at times like these.

Philip Brown, who has worked in the logistics and freight forwarding industry for over 20 years, has been appointed UK Managing Director for SBS Worldwide. Steve Walker , Group Chairman said ‘  This completes  our senior management appointments that will see our change from an A2B forwarder to a Supply Chain driven model, with Phil’s expertise allied with our consultative brand Virtualized Logistics leading the drive’. Philip Brown joins SBS from NYK Logistics Europe where he was a Director.

SBS Worldwide Group has appointed Geoff Gillo as a non-executive director and Doug Overett as its first UK Country Manager. Chairman Steve Walker said the company, headquartered in Dartford, UK, is strengthening its management team as part of its strategic global development plan. Launched in 1983 and with offices in the UK and North America, SBS is now targeting new areas for growth, including Asia. “Geoff will be working with us to develop the strategic expansion of the group…

Global full service freight forwarder, SBS Worldwide launched a key ocean freight consolidation service through the US West Coast gateway for its customers in the north of the UK through its Manchester office, the first of a series of planned enhancements this year. Chairman, Steve Walker is certain that as the economic chill hardens, exporters and importers in one of the most important commercial, industrial and retail regions of the UK will welcome his company’s improved services. “During January, we introduced a Los Angeles/Liverpool consolidation service with a 17 day depot to depot transit time,” he said.

ExxonMobil Marine Fuels (EMMF) is now able to supply a heavier grade of bunker fuel at the port of Singapore. EMMF, which recently equipped its facilities at Singapore to provide for custody sampling of bunkers a full six weeks ahead of new local bunkering regulations, says it can now supply fuel of up to 500 centiStokes at the port. Customers can benefit from cost savings in using this new fuel without impairing the performance of their vessels, as most modern ships are designed to burn fuel with viscosity above the conventional 380 centiStokes. The new grade has typical spec properties similar to the 380 product, with the exception that it has a maximum density of 0.998 and a viscosity of 500 cSt.

When Texaco, now represented in the marine lubricants market by FAMM (Fuel and Marine Marketing), launched Taro 40 XL 40, the lubricant was designed to address pressing field problems in medium speed engines. Three years later FAMM is in a position to evaluate the performance in a large number of engines and to compare the field results with competitive lubricants. The pressing problems arose from a series of engine design and fuel processing changes. Although aimed at improving engine efficiency and making savings, the changes resulted in a series of difficulties. The best known are engine blackening, undercrown deposits, piston head corrosion, fouling of purifier heaters, increased oil consumption, base number depletion, oil scraper ring clogging and increased piston deposits.

ExxonMobil Marine Fuels (EMMF), says it has been greatly encouraged by customer response to the quality of its 500 cSt fuel. Orient Line's (NOL) large containerships. than lighter ones. competitors. Singapore fuel and a competitor's 380cSt Singapore fuel. performance. they did with the 380cSt fuel. 500cSt fuel was also confirmed as marginal. savings were made. and a Singapore competitor's fuel ordered at 380cSt but supplied at 225cSt. considerations with all fuel supplied by EMMF.

ExxonMobil Marine Fuels says e-bunkering is here to stay. "But," says Joe Rud, vice-president, "People can adapt to the complex needs of bunkering better and more quickly than websites. E-commerce has now settled down to its correct place in the bunker business. But e-suppliers must always include a phone number which lets buyers talk to a real person." Rud was writing in the current issue of HorsePower, EMMF's newsletter. Also in this issue, Steve Walker, technical manager, outlines the practical consequences for shipping of upcoming EU legislation on sulfur contents in marine fuels. In the article, Walker lists both the costs, consequences and good news for shipowners and ships' engineers which stem from the caps on sulfur.

ExxonMobil Marine Fuels (EMMF), a world leading supplier of marine fuels, has warned that alternatives to a pure sulphur cap on fuels need to be investigated, made workable and used, if serious pitfalls are to be avoided. Steve Walker, Global Technical Manager of EMMF, told the recent International Bunker Conference in Rotterdam that, while any move to ensure cleaner air should be welcomed, the current EC proposal for amendment of the Sulphur in Liquid Fuels Directive has yet to look in depth at the real effect it will have on the end-user. Walker explained that, for internationally trading vessels, the current proposal would involve having three grades of fuel – 4.5 per cent sulphur bunker fuel…